At the Long's Peak trail at 7 am this morning, ready to hike! Even got a good parking spot.
The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm from the trail head at 9400' all the way up to 12,000'. Above that it was pleasantly cool with a gentle breeze. The trail was dry nearly to treeline, then just a few small snowfields. So I made good time up to the Chasm Lake junction.
Because much of the Long's Peak trail goes through tundra it's a great place to observe alpine critters. Last year I saw several flocks of ptarmigans, but this year there were marmots, marmots and more marmots.
My destination was the Keyhole, a rock opening at the far end of the Boulder field. Last year due to a sore ankle I never reached the Keyhole, so today was the day. En route the trail passes one of the world's most scenic privies: solar powered and en plein air. Then you climb over a steep rock pile to reach the Keyhole, which at 13,200' elevation looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.
On the far side of the Keyhole is the route to the summit of Long's Peak, which requires traversing narrow ledges with steep drops. But currently it's still winter on the west side of Long's, so add icy snowfields to the equation. Not for me, I only tackle this route when it is completely dry. However I did meet some climbers outfitted with crampons, ice axes, rope and helmets, who planned to do the ascent. The second photo shows the route.
After descending from the Keyhole and Boulder field I decided to take a major detour, turning north at Granite pass onto the N Longs Peak trail. From there I looped back via the Boulder Brook and Storm pass trails. This added about 8 miles to the return trip, but it was an opportunity to hike these trails for the first time. N Longs Peak trail had gorgeous views of snow capped mountains, also a few wildflowers. Boulder Brook followed a cascading stream, initially down a gentle slope but then much steeper approaching the junction with the Storm Pass trail. Storm Pass was... meh. Well except for the wild iris. It's a horse trail, 'nuff said. But this was my first time on these trails, so I'm glad I tried them. Next time I'll climb Estes Cone, which would have added 700' elevation gain.
Got back to the car at 4 pm. Funny thing is that I didn't feel particularly tired. Am I buff or what? In all 20 miles and about 5000' elevation gain.
The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm from the trail head at 9400' all the way up to 12,000'. Above that it was pleasantly cool with a gentle breeze. The trail was dry nearly to treeline, then just a few small snowfields. So I made good time up to the Chasm Lake junction.
Because much of the Long's Peak trail goes through tundra it's a great place to observe alpine critters. Last year I saw several flocks of ptarmigans, but this year there were marmots, marmots and more marmots.
My destination was the Keyhole, a rock opening at the far end of the Boulder field. Last year due to a sore ankle I never reached the Keyhole, so today was the day. En route the trail passes one of the world's most scenic privies: solar powered and en plein air. Then you climb over a steep rock pile to reach the Keyhole, which at 13,200' elevation looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.
On the far side of the Keyhole is the route to the summit of Long's Peak, which requires traversing narrow ledges with steep drops. But currently it's still winter on the west side of Long's, so add icy snowfields to the equation. Not for me, I only tackle this route when it is completely dry. However I did meet some climbers outfitted with crampons, ice axes, rope and helmets, who planned to do the ascent. The second photo shows the route.
After descending from the Keyhole and Boulder field I decided to take a major detour, turning north at Granite pass onto the N Longs Peak trail. From there I looped back via the Boulder Brook and Storm pass trails. This added about 8 miles to the return trip, but it was an opportunity to hike these trails for the first time. N Longs Peak trail had gorgeous views of snow capped mountains, also a few wildflowers. Boulder Brook followed a cascading stream, initially down a gentle slope but then much steeper approaching the junction with the Storm Pass trail. Storm Pass was... meh. Well except for the wild iris. It's a horse trail, 'nuff said. But this was my first time on these trails, so I'm glad I tried them. Next time I'll climb Estes Cone, which would have added 700' elevation gain.
Got back to the car at 4 pm. Funny thing is that I didn't feel particularly tired. Am I buff or what? In all 20 miles and about 5000' elevation gain.
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